Elastic support for beds



UNITED STATES PATENT OEETCE.

JAMES PERRY, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

ELASTlC SUPPORT FOR BEDS, SEATS, 80C.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 50,8110, dated November7, 1865 antedated November 2, 1865.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, J AMEs PERRY, ofBrooklyn,in the county of Kin gs,in the State of New York, haveinventeda new and useful Improvement in Elastic Supports for Beds and analogoususes; and I do hereby declare that the following is a clear and exactdescription thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,and the letters of reference marked thereon.

The object of my invention is the production of exible sphero-formseats, beds, and supports for persons in sitting and incumbentpositions, and to proportion the degree of iexibility and rigidity ofthe parts, so that they shall be maintained in their proper positionsunder all the circumstances attending their use, to give ease andcomfort to the persons occupying the same, and to give rotund andelegant position to the cushions, pads, mattresses, and bedding, ofseats, bedsteads, &c., when they are unoccupied.

Ordinary slats that are thin enough to be easily flexible soon acquirean inverted curvature by use, and such inversion is disagreeable; and,furthermore, cushions, mattresses, and

' bedding lying on or connected to such supports lack the elegance thatreverted and elevated curvature of surface imparts to them.

I obtain the requisite degree of strength and rigidity in thesphere-form supports by arching and disposing some of the parts edgewisewith respect to the weights and strains they are to sustain, andcombining therewith springs and strips in such manner as to leave eachsprin g and compound slat to move proportionally to the stress upon it,and the whole spheroform support to vibrate Within certain limits. Iprepare a number of springs and arched ribs. These ribs are each shapedand connected in such manner as to produce a flexible beam or elasticcompound slat, and a number of these are mounted by the aid of thesprings in the.

frame of a chair, sofa, car, or carriage seat, bedstead, or cradle toform the exible sphero- `form supports. Two or more of these flexiblebeams or compound slats may be used in some instances on which tosupport the others near their ends; and in other cases each spheroformsupport may be suspended directly from pins or other supports byflexible links made of rubber or other suitable material.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I willproceed to describe its construction and operation by the aid of thedrawings.

The same letters refer to corresponding parts in all the drawings.

Figure l represents the parts composing the elastic compound slats ofwhich my flexible sphere-form supports arein part composed, and thedescription of these and of the effect of the weight W acting thereonillustrates the principle of operation and its application to thepurposes herein set forth.

I shall new describe the parts and construction of Fig. 1, and nextdescribe theparts and construction of the other drawings7 and Itheapplication of the inode of operation thereto:

Figs. 2 and 3 represent a portion on a largerscale. Fig. 2 is a sectionof the strip a at the line II H, Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a plan view.

- Referring to the marks of reference, a is a strip or slat. bis a rib.c c are rubbersprings. d cl d d are transverse supports, and a weight.The strip a is a half-inch thick', tW'o and one-fourth inches wide, andsix feet long. rllhe rib b is three-fourths of an inch thicl'and curvedto a circular, elliptic, or other curve of more or less convexity, anddeep enough to give ample strength to support the strain to which it maybe sifbjected when in use. Its` length is nearly equal to the distancebetween the supports d 1, and its lower edge at the ends aresemicircular, as shown in Fig. 2. The rubber springs c may be madesimilar to rings cut from rubber pipe, and they are to be passed underthe semicircular ends of the ribs b b, Fig. 2, and up into the strip aand over the semicircular stay c e, Figs. 2 and 3. The springs c c maybe made of metal, ofthe conic spiral form, and combined with the springsc c in the manner indicated, so as to transfer a part of the weight fromthe slat c to the transverse beams d', the spring c' being allowed toact between the supports d' d and the projections fj on the ends of therib b. The snpports d will act as a positive stop to prevent the rib bfrom descending so low as to destroy the spring c under anycircumstances. Thin and narrow slats a may be strengthened by gluing thepiece g on the under side at the points where the springs c enter them.The springs c and c', or one of each' pair, act at each extremity ofeach rib b. When the wei ght W is removed the flexible beam or compoundslat becomes arched, rising in the center until the strip a conforms tothe curve of the upper edge of the rib b, to be again straightened whenthe weight W is again applied. lt is obvious that a less weight laid onthe compound slat at the same point will produce a less depression ot'it, or the same weight laid on several similar slats will have a likeeffect; also that the tlexibility of the strip a itself increases withthe weight, as its points of support recede, until it touches the curveof the rib b at only a single point, as at m, Fig. 1.

Fig. 4: A represents another modification of myinvention. It is anelastic compound slat like that above shown, except that the springs care omitted and the ends of the ribs b rest on transverse slats of likecompound con struction, the ends ot' which are seen at t'.

Fig. 5 represents a bedstead having its front side removed, showing acompound slat of the construction ot'Fig. 4 resting on like compoundslats fi fi, applied thereto. It may be entirely covered with conicalsprings, one of which is indicated at Z.

Fig. 6 represents another form of my invention. It is a bedstead havingits front side removed, showing a compound slat, B, divided in themiddle. The half-ribs Z) b are centered by the pins J J at the large endofeacl1,while the contractile springs 7c k, fixed on the crosspiece a,under the middle ot' the strip a, force up the rods S S against theunder edge of the ribs b b at their inner ends and deilect them upwarduntil the strip a conforms to the curved edges of the said ribs Z) b.They may be kept in place endwise by screws passing through cross-piecest tinto elongated holes in the slats and ribs under them.

Fig. 7 is a plan view of the constructions represented in Figs. 5 and 6.It shows the longitudinal slats A or B resting on transverse supports ti at the ends, and a number of the conical springs Z Z Z Z. The slats Aor B may be attached to the transverse pieces t' t' by pins, or they maylie in recesses in t' t', or they may be retained by a rack. (l, on thesupplementary figure by the side of Fig. 7, represents the constructionof a simple transverse support, with attachments 1 2 3 4, leavingrecesses between them for centering the ends ofthe ribs Z) b. This rigidand curved transverse support may be substituted for the flexibletransverse beam or support z', (shown in Figs. 5 and 6,) and Fig. 9represents a side View of a frame analogous to that in Fig. S, with theend supports a n, extended quite across, so as to support all the slatsA directly. The mattress 0 rests on or is secured to the compound slatsA or B, Figs. 5, 6, the whole forming a combination consisting of theordinary hair or hairand-spring mattress combined with a number of theelastic compound slats resting on transverse supports or the abutments nn n n.

Fig. 10 represents a car or carriage seat unframed. It has longitudinalslats of the construction shown in Fig. 4, one of which is broken toshow the work below. The slats rest on abutments a a. The transversebars p p 19 p are connected to the frame by the ilexible rubber links cc c c, suspended from pins (not represented) driven in theframe directlyover the ends ofthe bars p, (the plan shown in Fig. 12, in which prepresents the bar.)

Fig. ll represents one of the longitudinal compound slats combined withthe barspp 19 p and links c c c c, to give additional security to theformer where this is deemed requisite.

Fig. 12 is a cross-section, on a longer scale, of the end ot' one of thecompound slats and supports shown in Figs. 10 and 11. The rubber springis indicated by o, while p represents the bar and q the pin above it.

Fig. 13 represents the frame of a chair and the plan of two sets ot' theelastic compound slats a a. a a, crossing each other at right angles.They are supported by the pins 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and S, the ends ot'the ribs b b b Z) being connected under the pins by the flexible links cc c, Fig. 12. The strips a a, for small seats, may be made of hoop-iron,and they may rest by their ends on the frame over the pins 1, 2, 3, &c.

Fig. 14 is a plan, and 15 a section, of a seat which may rest upon thecompound crossslats in the frame represented by Fig. 13, con structed ofthe elastic strips of hoop-iron a a a a and conic springs Z Z Z Z andcurved disk and the double conic spring c and support d'.

Fig. 16 represents a rubber spring, c, made by cementing or lashing twobuttons, q q, one in each end of a piece oi' elastic pipe. It also,

Y1n common with Fig. 2, represents the mode of securing the said springto the slot a, and the use ot' the tie g before referred to, tostrengthen the former Where it is weakened. by the enlarged parts madeby the buttons q q, which rest on seats in the slat above the tie g.

Fig. 17 represents the mode ot' constructing the spring 7c, (see Fig.6,) and also a mode ot` securing it to the transverse piece r and rod S.The spring lc is formed of a piece of elastic pipe, having one endenlarged, by turning over and cementing a portion of itself on theexternal surface of the other part, and by lashing the rod S inside atthe other end. The enlarged end is secured to the transverse r, byexpanding the thimble u inside ot the en larged part of the spring k,through which the x kl rod S plays as the ribs b b (see Fig. 6) rise andfall.

Fig. 1S represents the frame of a sofa or lounge having the abutments nu extended across each end, on which to rest the elastic compound slatsof the construction herein described, or to support a frame containingthe flexible sphero-form support and cushion.

I do not limit myself to the precise arrangements as herein described.

WVhat I claim7 and desire to secure by Lctters Patent of the UnitedStates, is as follows:

1. The strips a, arched ribs b, and elastic supports c, arranged asrepresented, whether the spring c be supported by a pin7 d, or attachedto the adjacent part of strip u, as and for the purpose specied.

2. Supporting the compound slats a b c on li l l JAMES PERRY. Witnesses:

OHAs. A. PERRY, H. UHRIs'rENsEN.

